10 Years of 9/11

In My Name is Khan, Rizwan Khan points out that there is a now an additional way in which we partition time 9/11. The world changed completely after that fateful day in which almost 3000 people died in the terrible attacks on America.

I was in Goa, my wife pregnant with Sanam, and we had all met for a party at home... it was early night... when the shocking images were playing out live on TV. My cousin working in the WTC area had had a narrow escape, which was a relief. But we were still coming to terms with how the world's superpower had been brought down to its knees. Next morning, I drove back to Pune... and a few weeks later, my daughter was born. In a world very different from the one in which she was conceived.

Today, America is a much more secure place... and no terror attacks have taken place since... but the billions of dollars spent on internal security, and the trillions spent in the war on terror have crippled the economy. The country is paranoid, privacy rights are severely compromised, and after all that... one small mistake, one incident, and it will all come crashing down.

Iraq and "Afghanistan" have been "liberated" but dozens still die, Pakistan suffers the scourge of terror almost on a daily basis. India also continues to face terror, and while things are much better after 26/11, more needs to be and can be done.

But one thing is sure. Terror no longer has a purpose. People have been numbed, and just like other random acts of violence that have a shelf life of 2 days in the local newspapers, a similar fate befalls any terror attack. People do not sympathize with the terrorists any more. While outfits like the Khalistanis, the Palestinians and the LTTE had a mission, and sympathizers to their "cause", whether their methods were right or wrong, terror attacks today have a single goal - destruction of peace and human rights every where, and it is exactly this reason why they will never succeed. Because the human spirit will never be defeated.